Bed bottoms and the like



E E WOLLER BED BOTTOMS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 30, 1949 April 24, 1956 United States Patefi 2,742,653 BED BOTTOMS AND THE LIKE Application August 30, 1949, Serial No. 113,188

6 Claims. (Cl. -226) The present invention relates, in general, to bed bottoms and the like, and is, of particular usein connection with a bed bottomof the wire fabric or similar type which tends to hammock in use.

2,742,653 Patented Apr. 24, 1956 port for the sofa pillows when the bottom 17 is folded into the sofa frame 15.

The frame structure 23 is fabricated from suitable structural members to provide an inherently strong support for the fabric 25. More particularly, the frame structure 23 includes a pair of transversely extending end members 31, which are preferably fabricated from tubular sections, and longitudinally extending side members or rails 33 which preferably comprise angle members. Opposite ends of the tubular members 31 are cn'mped or flattened, and riveted or otherwise attached to the respective ends of the side rails 33. In order to reinforce the frame structure 23, diagonally extending braces such as 34 may be connected across the corners of the frame 23.

In order to permit folding'of the bottom 17 into the 1 main or sofa frame 15, each side member 33 is made of Fabric type springs have been used as bottoms for,

beds and some other types of furniture, and in view of their lightweight and adaptability for folding and storing in a small space, springs of this type are especially useful in sofa-bed constructions. However, the fabric type springs known heretofore-have been somewhat unsatisfactory for. bed purposes because of-excessive displacement centrally'of the fabric when in useqand this is known generally as hammocking.

This hammocking characteristic of fabric type springs is particularly noticeable in double beds wherein the fabric I is hung or supportedfromrside; rails which are relatively widelyspaced and'as "a result-,two persons using beds of this type tend toroll toward'the center, causing a certain amount ofdiscomfort.. a

The principalobject of the p'resent invention is the provision of a wirefabric-typebed bottom which will mlnimize .hammockingv or excessive" central displacement of the fabric particularly whenmainly supported from the sides. Other objects and advantages 'of the invention will become apparentthrough referenceto the following description .and accompanying drawings of one embodiment of the invention. 7

In the drawings: f

Fig. 1 is a perspectiveview of a sofa bedequipped with an improved bottom made in accordance with the. inven- Fig. '2 is a fragmentary, .planview of the spring or bottomshowninFig. l; V

Fig. 3 is a view'taken along line 3-3 in Fig.2; and

Fig. 4 is a view taken along line 4-4 in Fig. 2.

The improved 'sp'ring or bottom construction may be used in various kinds'of beds and other types of furniture, but, in the drawing, the spring comprises a part of a sofabed of the type-disclosed in my Patent No. 2,352,989, issued July- 4, 1944, which was assigned to the assignee of the present invention; Reference should be made to this patent for amore complete description; of various details of the sofa-bed structure.

Asshown in the drawings, the sofa-bed, designated generally as 13, comprises a stationary or main frame 15, an extensible spring unit or folding bottom 17 which may be foldediinto a small space and stored in the sofa frame 15,-a sectional mattress 19 (shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1), and seat cushions (not shown) which are supinto the'sofa structure means of links 51 and 52.. Through the described'comstru'ction, thelegs 41, 43 are rigidly held in position when the foldable bottom 17 is extended and are automatically 7 four interconnected sections 37in the present instance. The sections 37 are suitably formed as described in my aforementioned patent and interconnected by hinges 39.

The foldable bottom 17, when in the bed position, is supported at the extended end by a pair of legs 41 and is supported at the opposite end on the mainframe 15.

A second pair of legs 43 supports the bottom frame structure 23 intermediate the ends. I p

The intermediate legs 4-3 and the legs 41 attached to the extendedendof the spring structure 23 are interconnsctcd by links 4-5 and 47,.and an intervening front board structure 49 which provides a pleasing appearance to the front portion of thesofa bed 13 when the bottom 17 is folded. into thev sofa frame 15. Thenintermediate; legs 4-3, are alsointerconnected with the sofa frame 15,.by

collapsed when the bottom structure 17 isfolded and stored within the main frame 15. I (V The wire fabric portion 27 of the fabric 25 is of'conventional construction and includes transversely. extend- I ing'chains 54 and longitudinally extending cross links 55 which interconnect the chains 54. The transversely extending chains 54 are composed of links 53 made by:

folding or bending a length of wire upon itself and twisting the resulting loop end to provide an eye 61. This method of fabricating the links 53 also provides a shank section 1 59 comprising a pair of parallel wires and the endsof these wires are bent to provide ho0ks'63 for engagingthe eyes 61 of. adjacent links 53. As aresult of this construction the wire fabric 27 is provided with a longitudinally extending edge terminating in eyes 61 and an opposite edge".

terminating in hooked ends 63. y

The canvas portion'28 of the fabric 25 is connected to the extended end of the wire fabric27. v."lIhe two fabrics 27 and 28 are joined in a conventional manner as for example by forming eyes in the canvas 28 and hooking the cross links 55 through these eyes.

Asbefore pointed out, the fabric 25 is yieldably supported Within the frame 23. This is principally accornplished by means of relatively short coil springs or heliv cals which interconnect the eyes 61 of the wire fabric 27 and one side rail 33, and the hooked ends63 of the wire fabric 27 and the other side rail 33. Coil springs such as '67 are provided for attaching opposite ends of The'fol ding bottorn 17 includes a generally rectangular 3 presentinstance, a canvas portion '28 which provides supthe fabric 25 to the tubular end members 31. The canvas fabric 28, in the illustrated construction, is supported tween the extended end of the wire fabric 27 and the outward end member 31 (Fig. 1). V

In order to prevent undue" vertical displacement of the.

wire fabric 27 centrally of the bottom 17, i. e. hammocking, I provide a relatively rigidfcross member 68 and yieldably attach it to the side rails 33. The cross rnember 68, in the presentinstance, includes'ajpair of longitudinally spaced rails 69 preferably fabricated from tubi'l lar' sections. The rails 69 may be flattened at opposite ends. and, riveted or otherwise attached to a pair of transversely spaced yoke-bars designated 71 and 72 respectively.

i .Thecross member 68 extends transversely of the foldable bed bottom 17 and is disposed intermediate the ends of the bed. Preferably, the rigid frame member 68 is located at about the center of the maximum expected load which will ordinarily be between the hips and shoulders of persons using the bed. In the construction illustrated in the drawing, the member 68 is also located so as to be foldable with the bottom and, accordingly, is disposed intermediate a pair of the longitudinally spaced hinges 39.

More particularly, the member 68 is located in the intermediate section of the foldable bed bottom which is adjacent the head end section of the bottom, i. e., the end section which is attached-to the sofa frame. Thus, when the bed bottom is folded into sofa-forming position, with the head end section disposed vertically at the rear of the sofa frame, the adjacent or first intermediate section disposed horizontally at the bottom of the frame, the second intermediate section extending upwardly from the front of the first intermediate section, and with the outer section extending horizontally rearwardly from its hinged connection to the upper end of the second intermediate section, as shown in my Patent No. 2,352,989, the first intermediate section, which contains the cross member 68, is disposed directly beneath and in spaced relation to the outer or seat section, with the folded mattress therebetween.

Since the portion 28 of the fabric in the outer or seat section, upon which the seat cushions are placed, permits a substantial portion of the seating load to be borne by the mattress, this load is in turn transferred through the mattress to the portion of the wire link fabric in the underlying first intermediate section. Thus the cross member 68, disposed in that section, serves to prevent hammocking of the sleeping surface in the extending bedforming position of the bottom, and also of the seating surface when the bottom is folded to form a sofa.

To yieldably support the cross member 68 the springs 65 connect to the member 68 through elongated holes 73 which are formed at intervals along the yoke-bars 71, 72. As illustrated in the drawing, some of the eyes 61 of the wire fabric 27 are superposed over the elongated holes 73 in one of the bars 71 comprising the cross member 68 so that the springs interconnect both the bar 71 and links 53 (Fig. 3). On the other hand, the hooked ends 63 of the wire fabric 27 are fixedly connected to the other bar 72, extending over and around the outer edge of the bar 72 and up through the elongated holes 73 as shown in Fig. 4.

The supporting helicals 65 are connected to bar 72 through hole 73 intermediate the wires of the shank section 59 if a single link is connected to the bar 72 as shown at 74. However, the springs 65 are connected between the hooked ends 63 through an elongated hole 73 as shown at 75 if two links 53 are connected to the bar 72. This arrangement permits suspension of the rigid frame member 68 without the use of additional coil springs 65 or other resilient suspension means thereby providing more economical construction. However, it will be understood that the wire fabric 27 and rigid cross member 68 may be resiliently supported by independent means.

Through the use of the rigid member 68, additional spring support is not required and, indeed it is possible to use a lesser number of supporting springs than would be necessary if the conventional fabric type construction were used. This will be more clearly understood when it is noted that the flexible, transversely extending rows of links will form a parabola-like shape when the fabric 27 is loaded so that the center of the bottom 17 is located a substantial distance below the points where the coil springs 65 connect to the fabric 27. However, when the rigid member 68 used under the same loading conditions, the supporting springs are loaded approximately the. same. amount, due to their short length, and, .consequently, extend approximately the same distance as when the springs 65 are connected to the fabric 27. The characteristics of the rigid cross member 68 substantially eliminates undesirable vertical displacement of the portion of the fabric 27 supported by the. rigid member 68 when the bed, or'the sofa formed by folding the bed-bottom, is occupied. Accordingly, for equivalent vertical displacement of the fabric somewhat fewer springs need be provided for the rigid frame member 68 than would ordinaril y be required for the unsupported fabric 27. In this connection, the resilient support for the cross member 68 is desirably proportioned so that the shape of the fabric 27 is not unduly changed adjacent the rigid member 63.

While very satisfactory results are achieved through the use of the described duplex member 68, additional transversely extending elements may be included in the structure or individual transversely extending elements may be desirable in some installations. In addition, a corrugated plate member or other plate member which will not how may be substituted for the rigid cross member 68.

The improved spring construction provides increased comfort to sofa-forming beds and other types of furniture using wire fabric type springs. In addition, the structure is economical to manufacture and may be easily fabricated on known machines. The features of the invention which are believed to be new are set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A foldable bed bottom for sofa beds or the like including a supporting frame having at least two hingedly connected sections, a flexible mattress-supporting fabric within and supported by said frame, said two sections being foldable from co-planar bed position into seat-forming position with one of said two sections overlying the other to form a seat, an elongated member extending transversely of said bed bottom in the lowermost of said two sections and generally in the plane of said section, said elongated member being substantially inflexible with respect to loads normally applied to the fabric in said lowermost section, and yieldingmeans connecting said fabric and elongated member to said frame at the sides of said lowermost section, said elongated member being engaged with said fabric to reduce hammocking of the fabric in said lowermost section.

2. A foldable bed bottom for sofa beds or the like including a supporting frame having at least two hingedly connected sections, a flexible mattress-supporting fabric within and supported by said frame, said two sections being foldable from co-planar bed position into seat position with one of said two sections overlying the other to form a seat, an elongated cross member extending transversely of said bed bottom in the lowermost of said two sections beneath and in engagement with said fabric, said cross member being substantially inflexible with respect to loads normally applied to the fabric in said lowermost section, and yielding means securing said cross member and fabric to said frame at the sides of said lowermost section.

3. K foldable bed bottom for sofa beds or the like including a supporting frame having at least two hingedly connected sections, a flexible mattress-supporting fabric within and supported by said frame, said two sections being foldable from co-planar bed position into seat position with one of said two sections overlying the other to form a seat, an elongated cross member extending transversely of said bed bottom in the lowermost of said two sections beneath and in engagement with said fabric, said cross member being substantially inflexible with respect to loads normally applied to the fabric in said lowermost section, and common yielding means securing said cross memher and fabric to said frame at the sides of said lowermost section.

4. A foldable bed bottom for sofa beds or the like including a supporting frame having at least two hingedly connected sections, a flexible mattress-supporting fabric within and supported by said frame, said two sections being foldable from co-planar bed position into seat position with one of said two sections overlying the other to form a seat, an elongated cross member extending transversely of said bed bottom in the lowermost of said two sections beneath and in engagement with said fabric, said cross member being substantially inflexible with respect to loads normally applied to the fabric in said lowermost section, a yoke member at each end of said cross member and secured thereto at right angles, and common helical springs connecting said fabric and said yoke members to the sides of said frame in said lowermost section.

5. A foldable bed bottom for sofa beds or the like including a supporting frame having at least two hingedly connected sections, a flexible mattress-supporting fabric within and supported by said frame, said two sections being foldable from coplanar bed position into seat position with one of said two sections overlying the other to form a seat, an elongated cross member extending transversely of said bed bottom in the lowermost of said two sections beneath and in engagement with said fabric, said cross member being substantially inflexible with respect to loads normally applied to the fabric in said lowermost section, a yoke member at each end of said cross member and secured thereto at right angles, said yoke members being connected to the sides of said lowermost section by means of helical springs and being also connected to the portions of the side edges of said fabric coextensive therewith.

6. A foldable bed bottom for sofa beds or the like including a supporting frame having at least two hingedly connected sections, flexible, mattress-supporting fabric in said sections and connected to the sides of said frame, said two sections being foldable from coplanar bed position into seat-forming position with one of said two sections overlying the other to form a seat, an elongated member extending through said other section substantially in the plane of the fabric therein, said elongated member being substantially inflexible with respect to loads normally applied to the fabric in said other section, and means flexibly connecting the ends of said elongated member to spaced parts of said frame, said connecting means including a spring for allowing said elongated member to be depressed by load, said elongated member supporting an area of the fabric in said other section which normally would be depressed under load.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 812,939 Lindsley Feb. 20, 1906 943,442 McClatchey Dec. 14, 1909 956,018 Young Apr. 26, 1910 1,260,485 Usievich Mar. 26, 1918 1,708,878 Goldberg Apr. 9, 1929 1,883,867 Bayer Oct. 25, 1932 2,345,624 Paladino Apr. 4, 1944 2,352,989 Woller July 4, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS 12,192 Norway Sept. 14, 1903 209,293 Switzerland June 17, 1940 722,260 France Dec. 28, 1931 

